How to throw a cocktail party

...a 10-point plan

What with it being the season and all - and hang on, isn’t Thanksgiving actually today? - I figured it would be useful to compile some advice for those of you who are hosting. And also, some impetus for those of you who are thinking of hosting. Because as diverting as it is to prepare a Brandy Milk Punch for oneself of a winter eve, it is 100x more fun to drink Brandy Milk Punches with all of your favourite people in a room. Some people fear hosting. I don’t, I love it and see it as the logical endpoint of becoming good at making cocktails. I can’t remember who it was who wrote that the most important thing about cocktails - alcoholic or not, I should add - is that they make people happy. “Honestly, people really light up when you offer to make them a cocktail. If there’s one thing that you need to know to make good cocktails, it’s that. Why would you not want that for as many people as possible?”

In other words, we’re all coming to your house. Next Friday? Great.

Naturally, constitutions and temperaments differ. It may be that nothing less than a strangers having sex in corners type of party will do for you. It may be that throwing a few random acquaintances together is all the fun you need. In all cases, however, I feel you’re aiming for a certain alchemy. A good party is exponential, it’s what happens when spirits multiply and the bowl overflows. It’s the work of a few moments. But you can feel them for days, weeks, sometimes years afterwards. Cocktails, says the authoritative volume quoted above “provide the feeling that this moment is special and that feelings and moments are important.”

So I’m afraid there’s no getting out of it. What there’s no time before Christmas? Well, some of the best parties I’ve hosted have been in January. Step to it. Here’s how.